Alright so Dan gave me the kick in the tail to tell the Story of Cygnus.
It's not a tale of pride, it's a tale of self sacrifice.
But the paradox is like Oedipus, one that brags is one that has not sacrificed at all.
The ultimate story of self fulfilling prophesy is life itself, but I for can't stand those that
say they have little control over their own destiny.
"God helps those that help themselves".
And to paraphrase, "Jesus despises those who pray in public".
The short story is that while a lifelong machinist I had always had an interest in the
craftsmanship of guitars and electronics, especially guitar amps.
My wife and I worked a combined 5 jobs for 5 years and saved enough money to start a music store
to serve the small Columbia, SC market that only had one other store that...well...didn't really serve the customers very well.
There were high end (still my friend, and will drop his name here, Eric Ernest) and the usual pawn shop options, but no real middle of the road stores.
So we decided to put our saved cash into a music store.
CD's, used and new, guitars, amps, PA's, lessons, and repairs.
This was in 1991 to 92.
When the thought of a name came up I dug into my fascination with astrophysics, and the discussions of the black holes, worm holes, and cosmos stuff in general.
The running joke was "If you buy a boat, it's equivalent of throwing money into the water".
So, I chose "Cygnus Music", as we were throwing our money into a black hole.
Somewhere in there, in between and prior, the band Rush grew on me.
I HATED Rush for a long time.
Could not stand Geddy's voice.
But looking back I realized they did touch a spot for me in an intellectual, nerdy way.
Take the song "Xanadu", a take on Milton's "Paradise Lost".
As I spent my days in the music store I had retied from the machining world, I soon realized that I had walked away from a world of craftsmen that really cared about their work.
Rather than musicians that were passionate but really not very successful or defined.
Bottom line is...although we had a lot of fun, it is true that musicians live on the edge,
and don't contribute to a very good business plan!
So, it really was "Cygnus X1".
I went on with life and resumed my career as a machinist, and could not have been happier doing so.
I went in with a renewed passion for an art that is getting lost.
And the tales of Xanadu, and especially Cygnus meant something real in my life.
So although Cygnus did not start with Rush, it certainly has wrapped that way.
One of the cappers was taking my 18 year old son to see Rush for their Time Machine concert at
Greenville last year.
It was his idea, and his first concert.
We had a ball, and yes they played "Temples of Syrinx", and this 49 year old went nuts like a teenager.
After all, it's about a man that decided to take to the music, isn't it?
Now I build amps, and enjoy machining...and brewing beer.
[ame]http://youtu.be/PCj3oBHSA5M[/ame]
It's not a tale of pride, it's a tale of self sacrifice.
But the paradox is like Oedipus, one that brags is one that has not sacrificed at all.
The ultimate story of self fulfilling prophesy is life itself, but I for can't stand those that
say they have little control over their own destiny.
"God helps those that help themselves".
And to paraphrase, "Jesus despises those who pray in public".
The short story is that while a lifelong machinist I had always had an interest in the
craftsmanship of guitars and electronics, especially guitar amps.
My wife and I worked a combined 5 jobs for 5 years and saved enough money to start a music store
to serve the small Columbia, SC market that only had one other store that...well...didn't really serve the customers very well.
There were high end (still my friend, and will drop his name here, Eric Ernest) and the usual pawn shop options, but no real middle of the road stores.
So we decided to put our saved cash into a music store.
CD's, used and new, guitars, amps, PA's, lessons, and repairs.
This was in 1991 to 92.
When the thought of a name came up I dug into my fascination with astrophysics, and the discussions of the black holes, worm holes, and cosmos stuff in general.
The running joke was "If you buy a boat, it's equivalent of throwing money into the water".
So, I chose "Cygnus Music", as we were throwing our money into a black hole.
Somewhere in there, in between and prior, the band Rush grew on me.
I HATED Rush for a long time.
Could not stand Geddy's voice.
But looking back I realized they did touch a spot for me in an intellectual, nerdy way.
Take the song "Xanadu", a take on Milton's "Paradise Lost".
As I spent my days in the music store I had retied from the machining world, I soon realized that I had walked away from a world of craftsmen that really cared about their work.
Rather than musicians that were passionate but really not very successful or defined.
Bottom line is...although we had a lot of fun, it is true that musicians live on the edge,
and don't contribute to a very good business plan!
So, it really was "Cygnus X1".
I went on with life and resumed my career as a machinist, and could not have been happier doing so.
I went in with a renewed passion for an art that is getting lost.
And the tales of Xanadu, and especially Cygnus meant something real in my life.
So although Cygnus did not start with Rush, it certainly has wrapped that way.
One of the cappers was taking my 18 year old son to see Rush for their Time Machine concert at
Greenville last year.
It was his idea, and his first concert.
We had a ball, and yes they played "Temples of Syrinx", and this 49 year old went nuts like a teenager.
After all, it's about a man that decided to take to the music, isn't it?
Now I build amps, and enjoy machining...and brewing beer.
[ame]http://youtu.be/PCj3oBHSA5M[/ame]
